Is the U.S. Constitution too hard to change?
Is the U.S. Constitution too hard to change?
Is the U.S. Constitution too hard to change?
Shownote
Shownote
The Constitution has been amended 27 times, but the last meaningful change was over half a century ago. In her new book, We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution, historian Jill Lepore argues that the near impossibility of amendment in recent deca...
Highlights
Highlights
The U.S. Constitution, while enduring, is showing signs of strain under the weight of modern political challenges. Designed to balance stability with adaptability, it now faces a crisis of evolution—where formal amendments have stalled and change increasingly depends on judicial interpretation rather than democratic consensus.
Chapters
Chapters
Why is the Constitution failing to keep up with today’s political crises?
00:00How was the Constitution meant to evolve—and why did that stop?
06:29What happens when good amendments still fail to become law?
12:49Who really decides what the Constitution means—the people or the courts?
18:16Can America fix its politics without fixing its Constitution?
24:18Transcript
Transcript
Shumita Basu: This is In Conversation from Apple News. I'm Shumita Basu. Today, is the U.S. Constitution too hard to change? Historian Jill Lepore has spent a lot of time studying and writing about the U.S. Constitution. And she says there's one big proble...
